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The G7 is tapping 100 million barrels of reserves as diesel remains near its record high, while September hiring collapsed to 29,000 jobs against forecasts for 84,000. Meanwhile, Tennessee investigates a failed execution involving at least seven IV attempts, and health insurance costs could rise as much as 11.1% next year.
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Blu Dot surpasses 2,000% ROAS with self-serve CTV ads
Home furniture brand Blu Dot blew up on CTV with help from Roku Ads Manager. Here’s how:
After a test campaign reached 211,000 households and achieved 1,010% ROAS, the brand went all in to promote its annual sales event. It removed age and income constraints to expand reach and shifted budget to custom audiences and retargeting, where intent was strongest.
The results speak for themselves. As Blu Dot increased their investment by 10x, ROAS jumped to 2,308% and more page-view conversions surpassed 50,000.
“For CTV campaigns, Roku has been a top performer,” said Claire Folkestad, Paid Media Strategist, Blu Dot. “Comping to our other platforms, we have seen really strong ROAS… and highly efficient CPMs, lower than any other CTV partner we've worked with.”
Using Roku Ads Manager, the campaign moved from a pilot to a permanent performance engine for the brand.
The Big Read
G7 Opens the Taps on 100 Million Barrels as Diesel Bites
The G7 said Friday it will release 100 million barrels of oil and fuel over four months, starting with diesel within 20 days. Members also agreed to refrain from export restrictions on energy, after Trump threatened to ban US diesel exports unless Europe released more stocks.
Diesel averaged $6.37 a gallon Friday, according to AAA, just below the record $6.52 set on Sept. 22, as the Iran war squeezed supplies. One analyst estimated US diesel could fall 25 to 50 cents a gallon after a few weeks, though another questioned whether the barrels were additional.
Employers Added Just 29,000 Jobs in September
US employers added just 29,000 jobs in September, far below forecasts, and downward revisions of 60,000 pushed July's total into negative territory. Economists expected about 84,000 jobs, and healthcare accounted for more than half of the gains even as the sector's hiring slowed.
Unemployment rose to 4.2% as 485,000 more people joined the labor force, while wages grew just 3%, likely trailing inflation. The soft report cut the odds of another Fed rate hike this month, two weeks after the central bank raised rates.
Christa Pike on a Ventilator After Tennessee's Failed Execution
Christa Pike was unconscious and on a ventilator after Tennessee's failed execution attempt Wednesday, her lawyers said in a court filing. Prison officials used at least seven needles trying to start IV lines, her lawyers say, and they filed a motion to preserve evidence.
Her attorneys believe faulty IV lines sent the pentobarbital into her body, and say a second dose was given instead of a fix. Gov. Bill Lee ordered an independent review and postponed Pike's execution indefinitely, while Republican lawmakers said Tennessee should consider alternatives to single-drug injections.
World View
Riot police clashed with French students as protests over teacher shortages and overcrowding disrupted more than 700 schools, with the interior minister reporting 1,747 arrests on Friday alone.
Intensified Russian drone and missile strikes are tearing the Ukrainian capital apart, Kyiv's mayor warned, after the city's key Pivdennyi bridge was hit for the fourth time in two days.
Spain's Congress rejected two housing decrees, a defeat for Pedro Sánchez that fuels talk of a snap election after nationwide protests over the eviction of an 87-year-old woman.
Need To Know
Florida's dengue outbreak has now topped 250 locally acquired cases this year, the most for any state since at least the 1940s, with most infections clustered around Tampa.
FDA inspectors found the cyclospora parasite in a wastewater tank and drainage ditch at the Mexican farm tied to the largest US outbreak, which sickened nearly 13,000 people.
A federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked border wall construction across Big Bend, a win for landowners, businesses and environmentalists opposing part of a $46 billion southern border buildout.
Money & Markets
Wall Street climbed near record highs as the S&P 500 rose 0.7% Friday, with traders paring Fed hike bets after the soft jobs report and the Nasdaq gaining 1.2%.
Boeing cleared a key hurdle Friday when the FAA ruled a software glitch on some 737 Max jets poses no safety issue, opening a path to 737 Max 10 certification.
American Airlines will let travelers combine AAdvantage miles with cash at checkout using a new slider bar, matching rivals United and Delta as it pushes to grow its loyalty program.
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Future Frontiers
Hawaii's 550-year-old Hōlei Sea Arch collapsed, the National Park Service has said, likely tumbling into the Pacific while Volcanoes National Park was closed during Tropical Storm Nolo last weekend.
Scientists are investigating an unusual surge in dead southern right whale calves along Argentina's Patagonian coast, with infections from wounds pecked by kelp gulls the leading hypothesis so far.
Eli Lilly's experimental amylin drug eloralintide, combined with tirzepatide at top doses, helped trial patients with obesity and Type 2 diabetes lose 23.3% of body weight at 48 weeks.
The Score
The NFL suspended 49ers owner Jed York for six games and fined him $500,000 for violating the personal conduct policy after his arrest in an Ohio prostitution sting.
CBS Sports and Tony Romo parted ways, ending his nine-year run as analyst, a month after he pleaded no contest to operating a vehicle while intoxicated in Wisconsin.
The Yankees remain undecided on Aaron Judge for the AL Division Series against the Rays, as the three-time MVP works back from a right calf strain before Saturday's opener.
Life & Culture
Anne Hathaway's thriller "Verity" earned $4.5 million in previews and is tracking toward a $30 million to $35 million debut, which would be her third No. 1 film this year.
Disney licensed a slate of titles to Netflix, including all five "Ice Age" films, which arrive worldwide Oct. 4 alongside the first two seasons of "Percy Jackson and the Olympians."
This year's Kennedy Center Honors will move to Washington's Capital One Arena instead, away from the riverfront building at the center of a legal fight over adding Trump's name.
Deep Dive
Why Your Health Insurance Bill Is About to Jump
What it is: Many Americans face much higher health insurance premiums next year, as GLP-1 drug use, expired enhanced Obamacare subsidies and stubborn inflation push up costs across the system, experts told CNBC. About 166 million Americans under 65 get coverage through work, and the average worker paid $6,850 in premiums in 2025 while employers covered more than $20,000.
The detail: Consulting firm Marsh estimates employer health costs will rise 8.2% per worker in 2027, the largest jump since 2003, while WTW projects 11.1% and Aon expects 9.5%.
Why it matters: Workers' total health costs rose 7.9% in 2026, the fastest pace in a decade, and Aon expects a similar increase next year as employers pass rising bills along. Deductibles and family premiums have each climbed more than 50% over the past decade, outpacing 36% overall inflation, so higher-deductible plans shift costs onto whoever actually needs care.
What to watch: Nearly six in 10 employers plan cost-cutting benefit changes for 2027, including higher deductibles, and some are dropping GLP-1 coverage, so read your enrollment packet closely this fall. Marketplace rates are not final, and KFF found last year's 18% median request ended as a 20% finalized increase, so watch whether this year's 15% proposal follows the same path.
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Extra Bits
A painting bought for just $30 at a Michigan estate sale, Gertrude Abercrombie's "Alderman Merriam's Shells," sold at auction for $1.35 million, far above its $250,000 high estimate.
Animal services officers in rural Virginia corralled a runaway emu near Disputanta after a chase and are still trying to find whoever woke up wondering where their emu went.
A Hungarian man earned a Guinness record for the world's largest energy drink can collection, 2,000 cans strong, all because one hot August day in 2008 left few cold options.
Today's Trivia
The driest inhabited place on Earth, where some weather stations have never recorded rainfall, is part of which desert?
On This Day
HMS Beagle returns Charles Darwin to Falmouth, England (1836) · President Woodrow Wilson suffers a stroke (1919) · The Warsaw Uprising ends (1944) · Guinea declares independence from France (1958) · "The Twilight Zone" premieres on CBS (1959)
"There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man." — Rod Serling, creator and narrator of "The Twilight Zone," in the Season 1 opening narration
That’s your Five Minute Daily. Share today’s edition with someone who wants to stay sharp without staying glued to the news, and we’ll be back tomorrow with the stories that matter.
—The Five Minute Daily Team



